Early Reader – Oliver and Albert, Friends Forever

A new boy named Albert joins Oliver’s class. He is very tall, and can already read! Some of Oliver’s friends make fun of Albert, becuase he can’t kick or catch or run fast. But Albert and Oliver both like bugs, so they become friends.

This is a Dial easy-to-read book. It is appropriate for more advanced beginning readers. There are 6 to 10 sentences on each page. Dialog is used. Contractions are used.

The illustrations reflect the text. It did annoy me, however, that after the boys discuss how big Albert is, the picture of Albert is about the same size as all of the other children in the classroom.

I liked that the boys have a friendship based on scholarship and mutual interest in insects, rather than one based on sports. (Not that there is anything wrong with a friendship based on sports, but those are a dime a dozen when it comes to early fiction.)